Northern Ontario Plant Database

Northern Ontario Vegetation Type (V-type)

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NE-V17: Jack Pine - Black Spruce - Feathermoss
Summary: A conifer-dominated stand with jack pine providing 21-40% cover; black spruce forms a secondary canopy, providing up to 20% cover (in 1/3 to 2/3 of sample plots). The understorey contains black spruce (6-10% cover), white birch, and balsam fir (each 2-5% cover), but no jack pine, indicating eventual succession to a black spruce or balsam fir stand type.

The shrub layer contains a moderate number of species, with low shrubs occurring more consistently than tall shrubs. Bush honeysuckle, lowbush blueberry, and velvetleaf blueberry each provide 2-5% cover. In 1/3 to 2/3 of sample plots, mountain alder (6-10% cover), showy mountain ash, Bebb's willow, and Labrador tea (each 2-5% cover) are also present.

The herb layer is relatively poor, dominated by the characteristic boreal forest species, with bunchberry providing the most cover (6-10%). In less than 2/3 of sample plots, creeping snowberry, trailing arbutus, goldthread, and wild sarsaparilla were also present, each providing 2-5% cover.

The forest floor is covered with feathermoss carpets interspersed with patches of coniferous litter. Schreber's feathermoss provides more than 40% cover, with plume moss and wavyleaf moss, respectively, providing 6-10% and 2-5% cover. Reindeer lichen provides only 1% cover.

Soil and Ecosite Types: The Jack Pine-Black Spruce-Feathermoss Vegetation Type (NE-V17) is found on coarse, acidic soils, most commonly on dry to fresh sandy soils (S1). It may also be found on fresh to moist sandy soils (S3), dry to moist coarse loamy soils (S5, S7), and very shallow soils over bedrock (SS3). The NE-V17 vegetation type may occur on ecosite types ES 1p (Black Spruce-Jack Pine-Very Shallow Soil-Species Poor), ES 1r (White Spruce-White Birch-Very Shallow Soil-Species Rich), ES 2 (Jack Pine-Coarse Soil), ES 4 (Black Spruce-Jack Pine-Coarse Soil), ES 5m (Black Spruce-Medium Soil), ES 18 (Jack Pine-White Pine-Red Pine), and ES 19 (White Pine-Red Pine-Mixedwood).

Trees:

overstorey

jack pine (Pinus banksiana) [9]
black spruce (Picea mariana) [6]
white birch (Betula papyrifera) [1]
white spruce (Picea glauca) [1]
balsam fir (Abies balsamea) [1]
red pine (Pinus resinosa)
white pine (Pinus strobus)

regeneration

black spruce (Picea mariana)
white birch (Betula papyrifera)
balsam fir (Abies balsamea)

Shrubs:

tall shrubs

mountain or green alder (Alnus viridis subsp. crispa)
showy mountain ash (Sorbus decora)
Bebb's willow (Salix bebbiana)
serviceberries (Amelanchier spp.)

low shrubs

bush honeysuckle (Diervilla lonicera)
lowbush blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium)
velvetleaf blueberry (Vaccinium myrtilloides)
Labrador tea (Rhododendron groenlandicum)

Dwarf Shrubs & Herbs:

dwarf shrubs

twinflower (Linnaea borealis)
creeping snowberry (Gaultheria hispidula)
trailing arbutus (Epigaea repens)

forbs

bunchberry (Cornus canadensis)
bluebead lily (Clintonia borealis)
wild lily-of-the-valley (Maianthemum canadense)
starflower (Trientalis borealis)
goldthread (Coptis trifolia)
wild sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis)

Ferns and Fern Allies:

spinulose woodfern (Dryopteris carthusiana)

Bryophytes:

Schreber's feathermoss (Pleurozium schreberi)
plume moss (Ptilium crista-castrensis)
wavyleaf moss (Dicranum polysetum)
dusky broom moss (or curly heron's-bill) (Dicranum fuscescens)

Lichens:

gray reindeer lichen (Cladina rangiferina)
common powderhorn (Cladonia coniocraea)

Note: Species listed above are taken from the Vegetation type description and the Species Percentage Cover by Vegetation Type Tables (pg. D 34). Species are listed in order of most cover and abundance.